Task force pushes pre-K funding

Group wants to make programs available to all

Sen. Gerald Allen, R-Cottondale, helps a 4-year-old in Holt Elementary School’s pre-K class look through a bin of building blocks on Thursday. Allen was one of three area legislators who toured the class. The Legislature will consider increasing funding for the state’s pre-K program in its 2013 session, which begins Tuesday.

Photo by Adam Muhlendorf/Alabama School Readiness

By Patrick RupinskiBusiness Editor

Published: Friday, February 1, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 31, 2013 at 11:19 p.m.

HOLT | Beth Hester on Thursday passed around a plastic cup containing ice cubes and asked the three 4-year-olds sitting next to her what makes ice melt.

Facts

Pre-K advantages

Advocates of pre-K education say national studies show that children in quality pre-K programs are:More likely to enter kindergarten ready to learn.More likely to read at grade level by third grade.More likely to graduate from high school.More likely to go to college and have higher incomes as adults.Less likely to be held back in school.Less likely to require remedial and special education.Less likely to engage in criminal activity.Less likely to need social welfare programs later in life.

Source: Alabama School Readiness Alliance

“Step on it,” one youngster said.

“The sun,” said another.

Hester, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Holt Elementary School, wrote down the answers and then asked where the ice cubes came from. The kids said they come out of a refrigerator, which they described as very cold inside.

They also noticed that putting the ice cubes in a cup on the table in a warm room was causing them to melt.

It was a simple science lesson based on observation that even the 4-year-olds could understand.

More importantly, the lesson was part of an education process to prepare the youngsters for kindergarten next year and the more than a decade of schooling ahead that could include more sophisticated observations involving experiments in biology, chemistry and physics labs.

Hester opened her classroom to local legislators and the media on Thursday so they could observe pre-K education firsthand.

The visit was set up by the Alabama School Readiness Alliance Pre-K Task Force, which is pushing for increased funding of Alabama’s pre-K program. It is seeking a $12.5 million increase in funding in this year’s legislative session, which starts Tuesday.

The alliance’s proposal is to increase funding by like amounts for the next 10 years until the state pre-K program is funded at $125 million annually. In the current school year, the program statewide received about $19 million in state money.

The proposal to increase funding over 10 years would make pre-K education available to all 4-year-olds statewide, said Allison de la Torre, executive director of the alliance, whose members include educators, businesspeople, elected officials and community leaders.

About 6 percent of Alabama’s 4-year-olds are enrolled in the pre-K program.

About 75 percent of the cost of pre-K education is paid by the state with 25 percent coming from local funding, which can include in-kind contributions like classroom space and furnishings. Much of the money for teacher and teacher assistant salaries and fringe benefits are paid by the state.

The state awards funds for pre-K classes based on a competitive grant process that evaluates the needs of the community, de la Torre said.

Pre-K, which is for 4-year-olds, and kindergarten are not mandatory in Alabama. Parents and guardians have the option of enrolling their children.

While kindergarten is available to all who want it, pre-K is not. The demand for pre-K education exceeds what’s available. The situation in Holt is common statewide.

Hester’s pre-K class at Holt Elementary has 18 children. Holt principal Debbie Crawford said she has the names of 23 more children on a wait list.

For the youngsters who are in pre-K, the learning advantage is noticeable, she said.

“It is amazing to watch the progress they have from pre-K through elementary school,” she said of Holt’s program, which is now in its sixth year.

“They learn how to interact and share and be part of the classroom,” she said. “And there are basics they need to know. They learn to identify letters (of the alphabet) and their sounds so they will be able to put words together in kindergarten” and learn to read.

Holt Elementary and Flatwoods Elementary are the only schools in the Tuscaloosa County School System with pre-K classes.

The Tuscaloosa City School System has more pre-K classes with the city funding extra classes.

Three Republican legislators — Sen. Gerald Allen of Cottondale and Reps, John Merrill and Bill Poole, both of Tuscaloosa, toured Hester’s class Thursday.

All indicated support for increasing the program’s funding.

Poole said he believes “there is a real good possibility” the Legislature will approve additional funding for pre-K program when it approves the Education Trust Fund budget for the new fiscal year, which begins in October.

He said the state is seeing increased revenues as the economy improves and some of that money should be used for pre-K. The funding can be done without raising taxes, Poole said.

<p>HOLT | Beth Hester on Thursday passed around a plastic cup containing ice cubes and asked the three 4-year-olds sitting next to her what makes ice melt.</p><p>“Step on it,” one youngster said.</p><p>“The sun,” said another.</p><p>Hester, a pre-kindergarten teacher at Holt Elementary School, wrote down the answers and then asked where the ice cubes came from. The kids said they come out of a refrigerator, which they described as very cold inside.</p><p>They also noticed that putting the ice cubes in a cup on the table in a warm room was causing them to melt.</p><p>It was a simple science lesson based on observation that even the 4-year-olds could understand. </p><p>More importantly, the lesson was part of an education process to prepare the youngsters for kindergarten next year and the more than a decade of schooling ahead that could include more sophisticated observations involving experiments in biology, chemistry and physics labs.</p><p>Hester opened her classroom to local legislators and the media on Thursday so they could observe pre-K education firsthand.</p><p>The visit was set up by the Alabama School Readiness Alliance Pre-K Task Force, which is pushing for increased funding of Alabama's pre-K program. It is seeking a $12.5 million increase in funding in this year's legislative session, which starts Tuesday.</p><p>The alliance's proposal is to increase funding by like amounts for the next 10 years until the state pre-K program is funded at $125 million annually. In the current school year, the program statewide received about $19 million in state money.</p><p>The proposal to increase funding over 10 years would make pre-K education available to all 4-year-olds statewide, said Allison de la Torre, executive director of the alliance, whose members include educators, businesspeople, elected officials and community leaders.</p><p>About 6 percent of Alabama's 4-year-olds are enrolled in the pre-K program. </p><p>About 75 percent of the cost of pre-K education is paid by the state with 25 percent coming from local funding, which can include in-kind contributions like classroom space and furnishings. Much of the money for teacher and teacher assistant salaries and fringe benefits are paid by the state.</p><p>The state awards funds for pre-K classes based on a competitive grant process that evaluates the needs of the community, de la Torre said.</p><p>Pre-K, which is for 4-year-olds, and kindergarten are not mandatory in Alabama. Parents and guardians have the option of enrolling their children.</p><p>While kindergarten is available to all who want it, pre-K is not. The demand for pre-K education exceeds what's available. The situation in Holt is common statewide.</p><p>Hester's pre-K class at Holt Elementary has 18 children. Holt principal Debbie Crawford said she has the names of 23 more children on a wait list. </p><p>For the youngsters who are in pre-K, the learning advantage is noticeable, she said.</p><p>“It is amazing to watch the progress they have from pre-K through elementary school,” she said of Holt's program, which is now in its sixth year.</p><p>“They learn how to interact and share and be part of the classroom,” she said. “And there are basics they need to know. They learn to identify letters (of the alphabet) and their sounds so they will be able to put words together in kindergarten” and learn to read.</p><p>Holt Elementary and Flatwoods Elementary are the only schools in the Tuscaloosa County School System with pre-K classes.</p><p>The Tuscaloosa City School System has more pre-K classes with the city funding extra classes.</p><p>Three Republican legislators — Sen. Gerald Allen of Cottondale and Reps, John Merrill and Bill Poole, both of Tuscaloosa, toured Hester's class Thursday.</p><p>All indicated support for increasing the program's funding.</p><p>Poole said he believes “there is a real good possibility” the Legislature will approve additional funding for pre-K program when it approves the Education Trust Fund budget for the new fiscal year, which begins in October.</p><p>He said the state is seeing increased revenues as the economy improves and some of that money should be used for pre-K. The funding can be done without raising taxes, Poole said.</p>